Driving
Lessons (2006)
Directed By Jeremy Brock
Produced By Julia Chasman
Starring Julie Walters, Rupert Grint, Laura Linney and Nicholas Farrell
Coming
of Age films appeal to me. There is something I really enjoy about
seeing the underdog gaining confidence and then coming to blows with
whatever has been keeping them downtrodden. In Driving Lessons we are
treated to Ben (Rupert Grint) gaining confidence from Evie (Julie
Walters), and in a fairly predictable way, Evie learns some lessons
from Ben too.
Growing
up in a family run by Ben's very domineering mum, but also involving
his father (a Church of England Clergyman) and an eccentric elderly
man reffered to as Mr Fincham Ben's mother has taken in to look after, is taking its toll on
Ben. He gets a job - to partly raise cash but mostly as an escape
from his family - helping an elderly actress to carry out daily
tasks. She appears to be in denial about many things; she refers to
herself as a Dame, she claims to not be an alcoholic and among other
things, she also insists Ben drives her everywhere even though
neither of them know how to drive. This odd character seems to be
exactly what Ben needs to branch out experiences-wise from his
mothers guarded style of upbringing before it does too much damage.
The
film has a few laughs, mostly from the interactions between
characters. Examples of this include the way strangers look at Ben
and Evie whilst she goes into detail on her failed marriages whilst
on a bus, or the way that the old man's behaviour gets progressively
more unconventional and the rest of the characters just accept these
peculiar changes.
The
soundtrack is fantastic, with Sufjan Stevens, Ben Folds and Nick
Drake to name some of the musicians who are featured. The only thing
better than the soundtrack is the locations. I would not be surprised
if the Edinburgh Tourist Office played a part in this film, and the
lake/loch they stop at is beautiful.
Acting
wise I found this film lacking. I was pretty bored up until 30
minutes in, when Ben and Evie read and act from the works of
Shakespear. The relationship between the two is what drives this film
(probably helped from their portrayal of Ron Weasly and his mum in
the Harry Potter franchise). In terms of the film being 'coming of
age' Grint spends a lot of time hunched over and staring at the
ground. I would have liked to see him, after the big finale, standing
tall and looking at people in the face as a sign he has become more
confident. It is really only the scenes with Ben and Evie I was
paying much attention to.
Another
annoyance with this film is the finale. I don't like films being
weird for the sake of weird, and by the finale everything seems
really over the top and it takes away from the realism that the film
had held. A really good coming of age film manages to make the viewer
think that if the main character can overcome whatever has been
holding them back then they can too, and this feeling is lost towards
the end as the film goes from having a few peculiar moments to being
full on bizarre.
Overall,
this film is (aside from Evie's language) inoffensive and would be
great for sticking on in the background on a rainy day when your
stuck at home with your parents as you don't have to pay attention.
There are definitely more original and funnier coming of age films
out there in existence, but this one is charming enough to watch with
your mum; as long as she doesn't mind swearing too much and can last
the first 30 minutes until we see some character development.Overall
I give this film a 6/10
p.s.
I say Evie swears a lot, she doesn't really, but it is definitely
categorised under excessive use of particular words. I wasn't
bothered by it much, but I'm sure my granny would not approve of the
language. Another coming of age film starring Grint called Cherrybomb
is by far less suitable for watching with parents (but still worth a
watch). Makes this film seem very tranquil and calm.
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